From humble beginnings with an Austin 7 in his native Northern Ireland, Paddy Hopkirk was destined to reach the pinnacle of success in European rallying and racing during the 1960s. Starting with some success driving a split-window VW Beetle, Hopkirk soon moved on to a Triumph TR2 in 1953 but it was with BMC that Hopkirk showed what he was worth driving such iconic rally cars of the period as the Austin-Healey 3000 and Mini Cooper S. It was with BMC that he went on to score multiple-class wins and outright successes in such events as the RAC Rally, Acropolis Rally and perhaps his best remembered, the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally. We are also reminded that Hopkirk also had a successful racing career as well, particularly driving BMC cars in events such as the Targa Florio, Sebring and Le Mans. Despite the demise of BMC and with the passing of the years, Paddy Hopkirk hasn’t faded away, and so the reader is taken though his exploits in historic rallying and involvement with BMW and the new MINI.
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